CONSUMER PREFERENCE RESEARCH IN FORMING RATIONAL COMPONENT OF REGIONAL BRANDS IN THE MEAT PRODUCT MARKET

Meat product market is considered to be the largest food product market possessing certain practices and significantly influencing other food markets. Conditions now prevailing in meat-packing branch market, namely import substitution policy, encourage appearance of new regional food manufacturers. Increased competition among manufacturers, changing buyers' preferences and price proportions in the meat product market -all that forces manufacturers to search more effective ways of strengthening their market positions. Branding has been seen as an effective tool of strengthening the competitive position of a company. The marketing research conducted in April 2016 had the following professional research objectives: to identify consumer preferences among sausage product manufacturers, to determine meat product types preferred by consumers, as well as preferred physical and functional parameters, to point out consumer preferences in respect to distribution places and purchase frequency: to identify their preferences for «Kurmilovo» meat products in the market of Barnaul, to determine consumer awareness as to the meat brands in the market of Barnaul. Questionnaire survey has been applied as a data-collection method. It has been carried out in the points of purchase in the city of Barnaul. The research conducted enables to evaluate consumer preferences in the meat product market of Barnaul, and also to apply the data in the process of constructing a rational component of new regional brands.